Anti-war protesters in Halifax urge Canadian government to end military aid to Ukraine

Demonstrators at an anti-war rally in Halifax Sunday urged the Canadian government to stop sending military aid to Ukraine.

Members of the Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace are calling on the Canadian government to stop sending weapons to Ukraine and instead, support negotiations to end the violence.

About half a dozen demonstrators gathered around a white banner in downtown Halifax with a message that said ‘no to NATO.’

“NATO was meant to be a defence, not an offence. It has transformed itself and it has willingly transformed itself because of the profits that have skyrocketed during this confrontation,” said Katherine Winkler, member of Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace.  

Protesters said a negotiated peace plan is the only solution.

“We acknowledge the suffering of the devastation of the Ukrainians. There is no denial of that whatsoever. We are contributing to the confrontation and the acceleration and we were contributing to the preparation of this violence that is continuing,” said Winkler.

However, others call the protest "Russian propaganda."

“There is one aggressive country here – Russia, which has invaded its neighbour again, and this has somehow turned into some sort of anti-western [and] anti-U.S. dialogue,” said Don Bowser, Founder of the support of Ukrainian Recovery Initiative.

Bowser said Ukrainians are fighting for their lives and need all the support they can get, both military and humanitarian.

“The places where there are mass graves like Hostomel, Bucha, and Kharkiv and you see what happens under Russian occupation. There’s no Ukrainian that feels that they should be left undefended,” said Bowser.  

Natalia Ivchenko, a Ukrainian refugee, who fled the country last spring said she feels shocked and angry by this rally.

“Russia has made it clear that they don’t want peace. Now we have on year anniversary of a full-scale invasion because since 2014 to 2022 [the] world was just talking,” said Ivchenko.